Still Thankful

• loving this song "Forever Reign" by Hillsong. but listening to a version by Kristian Stanfill. we sang it at church today and tears started streaming from my eyes as it starts out "you are good, you are good, when there's nothing good in me."
• loving my new pup Misty Mist. she's so sweet and is just a love bug. one of my new favorite things to do is come home and plop down on the kitchen floor so she can plop down on me like she's a lap dog...even though she isn't. and i just rub her belly and kiss her. and i love mornings when i yell to my mom for her to open my door and Misty comes running in, jumping up on my bed and plopping down on my head and we just cuddle. truly. lots of kisses are given by both of us and i cherish these moments.
• loving that it's summer time. enjoying boating and jet skiing and sun tanning and spending time with my family and friends. it's been really special. i'm still so thankful to be home and am still in disbelief (almost) when i think about my last summer compared to this summer. i am just so thankful for this "season" of joy and specialness with my family and i am going to take it and continue to be thankful for it!

yesterday while on the boat i hear my brother say "oh - my - word" and i almost die. just because it is so untypical to his usual language. so i smile big inside because i know he must have got that from me and then i laugh. and then i say "did you just say 'oh my word?'" and then his friend Mike goes "Ya! and he's been saying 'DANGIT' a lot too."
and so i laughed some more. because he obviously got that from me too.
and because just a few days ago i heard him say 'dangit' myself and for some reason it just made me smile inside. i really do love him.
i love that when he's out having fun on the jet ski we all just look at him and say "look at him and his smirk. he has no changed one bit since he was a kid."

• loving warm weather and working in Boston and lunch breaks with old and new friends/coworkers.
• loving seeing my mom enjoying her summer and her days. especially especially thankful for the joy she is experiencing. praying it will continue to surround her. and loved seeing my dad taking pictures of us all having fun on the island yesterday. it was really special. i'm really thankful for the hope only Jesus can bring - to our brokenness and darkness and for the power he has to restore and bring beauty from pure mess

• praying for change to be happening within my heart. praying for my gaze to be shifted from the things i tend to worship - to above. praying for just a glimpse of God's glory and just a taste of relationship with him so that it keeps me coming back for more. praying for a better understanding of the depth of my sin and wretchedness while also praying for a better understanding of the depth of grace and love i receive despite my filth. praying for more intentionality

• looking forward to a wedding this weekend. to seeing one of my good friends marry her best friend this weekend and being a part of the celebration. glad to be sharing it with other friends and excited to be wearing that tangerine dress of mine

i was on a positive roll here but just have to add a negative. i was just playing with my hair as i am typing and i come across something hard that makes me think "what is that?!" and so i pull it out only to drop it immediately because it was a bug! NOT COOL! how in the world did a beetle get in my hair and how long was it in there for?!? disgusting! now i'm just a bit paranoid and checking my head for more bugs

reminds me of the time Becca woke up with gunk in her hair wondering how in the world it got there and what in the world it was. only to find out jenn, while i think giving her a massage or doing somethinggg nicee.......had sneakishly placed chocolate chips in her hair. apparently forgetting to tell her/take them out, becca was already asleep with them in her head and woke up pretty concerned. it was really funny :) brings back such good memories living in 351 :)

thankful to be on a thankful note. praying i will be able to remember this time or season of "relief" or "joy" when the sometimes crummy comes along. and also praying that in those times of crummy i will still know there is much to be thankful for and reason to praise - not just when things are nice.